We're at a 1!!

Well, we had an exciting day today...I had a doctor's appointment and found out I'm dilated to a 1! Of course I can walk around like this for the next two weeks, but at least it's a start right! :) My doctor's appointment went well. I have a sinus infection so my doc prescribed some drugs- thank God! I think I'm making my self more sick because I'm so nervous that I'll be sick when baby comes- so this should put my mind at ease. Baby's heart rate was around 148 today- back up! Doc said it's normal for it to fluctuate like it has been. It's hard to believe we only have about 2 weeks left! I have to admit though- even though I've had a pretty easy pregnancy, I'm really ready to be done! Next doc appointment is in one week so I'll keep you all posted.

Chuck is now working in Federal Dam this week which is nice because it's only about 20 minutes from home. He'll be working in Hermantown again within the next couple of weeks to get the floor poured- then he'll be done there. He's getting very excited for rifle hunting season- it's fast approaching- 2 weeks! He's going to bow hunt this weekend and rifle hunting the next- of course he'll be around the house in case we need to make any special trips :)

This past weekend I was able to get some scrapping done with some friends of mine. We rented out a town hall and scrapped from 9am to 8pm...AND I didn't get hardly a thing done! Oh well, it was fun to get out and spend some time with the girls!

Other than that our week has been pretty quiet, which is nice because in a few weeks we will have a lot of excitement, some sleepless nights and long days as we get move into a new chapter in our lives...

Love you to all and I hope you are having a great week~

No More TOMATOES...Seriously!

If I have to look at anymore tomatoes I'm going to go nuts! Seriously! I just finished canning the last batch of stewed tomatoes. We ended up with 13 quarts of stewed tomatoes and 17 pints of salsa. I think we have enough for the year! We have more tomatoes in the basement, but I just can't stand to look at them anymore! Chuck has been doing a little experimenting and has made some dehydrated tomatoes to use in pasta dishes and such- so far they look good!

This past weekend I went to the cities to celebrate Izzy's first birthday! I can't believe she's already 1!! She had a lot of fun digging into her piece of cake, but started to cry from all of the excitement and everyone watching her. Maggie made an awesome cake that was decorated like a bubble bath with a duck in the middle of it. It was so cute!

Chuck is still working in Hermantown until the end of this week. It sounds like he is bidding another big project in Emily so keep your fingers crossed! Not too much longer and his work season will be coming to an end- he's had another successful year!

Chuck has also been building a dog house for the boys- this isn't the average doghouse though, oh no! This is the penthouse of them all! This dog house has insulation, a shingled roof, and carpeting! AND Chuck is stopping tomorrow to buy some siding for it! Can we say spoiled?!

We found daycare!!! The quest is over! I'm very happy with the lady I found and feel confident that she will take excellent care of our little one. I'll be meeting with her a couple of times once baby arrives so she can meet him or her. What a relief!

I had a doctor appt last week and got the flu shot. Never again! This is the second time I've had a flu shot and both times have been sick afterwards! I'm finally starting to feel better- so I'll be taking it easy the rest of this week. Other than the flu shot, the appt went well. Everything looks good and the strep b test came back normal. Not too much longer!

Hope you're all having a great week! Until next time...

And the count down continues!

We finally recovered from the wedding! Another week gone and another week closer to meeting our little one! I'm now 35 weeks and it's hard to believe that not too much longer we'll have a new little one in our lives.

This past week was pretty quiet as we were both so tired from the wedding! Although we went out for crab legs on Thursday night AND I made salsa and stewed tomatoes...we have so many tomatoes I'm ready to contact the farmers market!! haha! So we squeezed in some time for food...imagine that! :)

This past weekend started out great! I found out on Friday that I passed my final insurance class and I officially earned my CISR designation (Certified Insurance Service Representative) . Doesn't that make me sound important? haha :) So I'm sure you can imagine my excitement!

This past weekend, Chuck's side of the family put on a nice baby shower... It was so fun to see everyone and get a lot of really nice gifts! We are so blessed! So we're pretty much set for baby to arrive and the count down continues! Only 31 more days until my due date!

Since mom and dad were up for the shower this weekend we were able to spend some time with them .... Mom and I had a lot of fun putting away baby stuff and getting things ready in the nursery while dad and chuck scoped out some hunting spots. Chuck ended up getting another doe with his bow on Saturday! (It was quite the experience for my dad to see this!) So they spent Saturday afternoon and Sunday preparing the deer for processing.

Chuck has been busy working on a house in Hermantown this week. Although he drives quite a distance, we are thankful that there's still business and work lined up. Of course his phone has been ringing daily too as there are a lot of people that want to complete their summer/fall projects before snowfall!

And the hunt for daycare continues...AND to be honest with you it is not the easiest task to complete as I'm sure most of you know! I cannot believe how long some of the waiting lists are!! Fall of 2009 or Spring of 2010! Are you kidding me?! We're fortunate that Chuck will be playing the role of Mr. Mom and staying home with the baby until March, but I've started to make my phone calls now and I'm glad I am! Most daycares fill up quickly or plans change and mothers get pregnant! Not only am I on the hunt for the best daycare out there, I'm also thinking about their insurance and if they have proper coverage for their "small daycare business!!" (It's only natural that I think of this since I work in the field!) Right now I'm wishing I didn't hear some of the things these yahoos tell me!

I hope you're all having a fabulous week...I'm nesting so I'm off to find something to clean, organize, paint, rebuild, plant, bulldoze, etc.
Love to you all!

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Newman!!!

Congratulations Tom and Maggie! We love you!

It's official! Tom and Maggie are married and enjoying their time together in St. Petersburg Florida on their honeymoon!

The wedding was beautiful and a ton of fun! Both families really put a lot of work into the big day and it sure showed! The room, cake, everything was amazing! Chuck was an usher so we made way to Willmar on Thursday night so we could be there Friday night for the groom's dinner. We stayed at the Grand Casino Mille Lacs Thursday night and then continued our journey on Friday. The groom's dinner was awesome and the evening was fun- the girls did their thing while the guys played a little poker... I was Maggie's personal attendant so I was able to spend Saturday with her while she got ready. The day started with a hair appt and afterwards we ate pizza and shared laughs with her mom, sister and other bridesmaids while getting ready. Pictures were at 2:45 and then the ceremony at 5:30- oh how the day flew by so quickly and Maggie was a beautiful bride! Little Izzy was pulled down the isle by her cousin Ethan in a little wagon that had been decorated. She loved it! She was smiling and clapping the whole way down and didn't like it when daddy picked her up and handed her to Grandma Newman. But surprisingly she dried her eyes and watched her mommy and daddy get married- she was so good!

Saturday night Chuck had his fill of drinks while I had my Izzy fix! She is such a little peanut and so cute! Izzy and I headed to bed around 10pm as it was a long day for the little one. Chuck came staggering in around 2:30 and was feeling pretty good...he really enjoyed himself that night but not so much the next morning. hehe :)

Another exciting weekend for the Richardson's and more to be thankful for.

We hope you all enjoy the rest of your week!

Happy Sweet 16 Amanda!!!

Another week gone and another week closer to baby!

Of course the week flew by as it usually does! We spent most of our evenings during the week relaxing and watching tv. Although Wednesday night Chuck picked 3 5 gallon buckets of tomatoes from our garden- I'm hoping I can make salsa this week!

We didn't do a whole lot on Friday night- my back has been hurting pretty bad lately and I actually went to the chiropractor on Friday so we took it easy in the evening.

Saturday we went into Boy River for a benefit for 2 of our neighbors- a father and daughter both are battling cancer. We were happy to see a good turn out...there must have been about 150 people there! They were serving chili and homemade fry bread (yummy!!). They also had a TON of door prizes! Chuck and I won a gift certificate to our local meat store as we were walking out the door- perfect timing for deer season!

After the benefit we celebrated our niece Amanda's 16th Birthday at Dan and Carol's!!! Hard to believe she's 16! The food and cheesecake were awesome! (There were 3 choices of cheesecake- like being at the cheesecake factory!!) Of course we played a little cards- Chuck kept his score low- I on the other hand racked up the points so I didn't do so hot...Amanda's taking her driving test today so keep your fingers crossed (and stay off the road j/k)!!! Good Luck Amanda! We love you!

Enjoy your week and we'll see some of you at TOM and MAGGIE'S Wedding this weekend! Yahoo! It's going to be so fun!!

Another week already!?

The weekends come and go so quickly!!

Good news! Friday night Chuck shot a doe deer with his bow! He called me at work and was contemplating going out but then decided last minute he'd go. It's a good thing he did!

Saturday night Chuck was in Big Lake for Tom's bachelor party- they played paint ball in St. Cloud. This was Chuck's first time playing paint ball and needless to say he came home with a few 'war wounds.' hehe The guys then went out to McPete's for some cocktails, but only for a short time. They ended up staying at Tom's sitting around a bonfire and put down 'a few' beers. Surprisingly Chuck looked pretty good when he got home...

I went garage saling in Grand Rapids with my friend Terra. This weekend was the annual hwy 38 garage sales. There's always a ton of them! We found some good deals and went out for Mexican after- we love Mexican! I also managed to get some painting done in the house...
AND I still found some time to relax which was nice!

So, judging by the survey I posted last week- all but one person thinks we're having a boy!!! It was interesting to see the results so far! Chuck informed me this past week that we're having a girl...so he thinks it's a girl and I think it's a boy- not too much longer and we'll see who's right about this one :)

Back to work tomorrow...enjoy your week everyone!

Thursday already!!

Wow this week is flying by! It's hard to believe tomorrow is Thursday!

This past weekend flew by as usual! We went out for dinner on Friday night and Saturday night we went over to the neighbors for their annual party. They always have a clay shoot and this year Chuck won a prize! He won a riffle cleaning kit! There's always a ton of food, beer, music (DJ), dancing, etc. Chuck enjoyed the night- unfortunately I headed home pretty early - my third trimester is making this mama tired!

It's that time of year again...Bow hunting season has started! Due to the rain this past weekend, Chuck wasn't able to hunt. He went out Monday night but didn't see anything. In October he's going to Camp Ripley with his buddy Eric, so he's looking forward to that.

I had a routine doctor appointment on Friday and was shocked to hear that baby's heart rate dropped to around the low 130's...could this be a little feller?? My intuitions say boy, but we'll soon find out :) As Chuck says, "it's a Richardson!"

Chuck is staying quite busy with the business and has been working in Crosslake last week and the majority of this week. He still has at least 3 weeks of work lined up and the phone continues to ring! Next week he'll be working in Ely. It's quite a ways, but he's gotta go where the jobs are! Keep 'em coming!

Yesterday I was in St. Cloud for my final CISR (Certified Insurance Service Representative) class- Commercial Casualty. I'm praying that I passed, especially since I work on the commercial side! If I pass, I'll be doing a little dance from my mailbox to the house! My goal was to be done with this designation prior to baby and it's been 2 years since I started the program, so your keep your fingers crossed!

I added 2 new pics of one of the bedrooms- the window and the closet. All of the trim and wood work is pine and Chuck did all the work himself. It's so nice to have a husband that's a handyman! We love our new rooms and I got to enjoy scrapping in my room this past weekend!

Chuck's going to the cities on Saturday for Tom's bacholer party...need I say more?! haha! I on the other hand will be enjoying a little R&R time!

Enjoy the rest of your week!